Download a Free App, Raise Money to Help Japan

You can buy software or donate directly to help Japanese disaster relief efforts, but Japanese startup Lunascape has announced a way to help without even spending any of your own money. Just download one of the company’s iOS applications, and it’ll donate ¥50 (a little over $0.63 U.S.).

It may not seem like much, but Lunascape is prepared to donate up to ¥5 million (roughly $64,000) as a result of iLunascape app downloads. The company has already donated 1 million yen (or around $13,000) before even beginning this campaign, and intends to begin rolling out donation buttons and links in its products and webpages in the coming days. All funds raised will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross and other similar relief organizations under the name “Friends of Lunascape.”

iLunascape is an iOS web browser alternative that provides true tabbed browsing, the ability to grab website screenshots, and its own special “InReach” interface that brings many commonly used controls within easy reach of a user’s thumbs down near the bottom of the device screen. The iPhone and iPad versions are two separate apps, so presumably downloading each will trigger a separate donation, meaning you can download up to about $1.20 just by taking a few quick seconds to install a couple free apps. Even if you don’t have either iOS device, grab it from iTunes: a download’s a download.

If you’re interested in seeing how far along towards its ¥6 million goal (1 million already donated and 5 million in potential downloads resulting from app downloads) Lunascape is tracking its progress over at its official donation page. The campaign begins today and lasts a full month, so you’ve got plenty of time to spread the word to any iPhone or iPad-toting friends.